Toy boat



July 31, 1956 H. HIRSCH ET AL 2,753,539

TOY BOAT Filed NOV. 1, 1955 INVENTOR. HENRY H/RSCH BENJAMl/V L. H/RSCH ATTORNEYS TOY BOAT Henry Hirsch and Benjamin L. Hirsch, Toledo, Ohio, as-

signors to Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Application November 1, 1955, Serial No. 544,204

Claims. on. 46-95) This invention relates to toy boats and particularly to toy boats which are propelled by the buoyant effect of bubbles acting against inclined, inverted troughs.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a toy boat in which gas propellant can be generated by effervescence and conducted to the lower forward end of an inverted trough which is carried beneath such boat and which extends upwardly and 'rearwardly to the stern of such boat.

Another object is to provide a toy boat beneath which is carried an inverted inclined trough adapted to be acted upon by the buoyancy of bubbles, the rear end of which trough may be shifted laterally for the purpose of causing the boat to be steered in an arc to port or starboard.

Another object is to provide a toy boat carrying an inclined, inverted trough, having a lower forward end connected to a compartment within the boat by a tube having an orifice so designed and located as to emit nearly spherical bubbles in position to rise into such trough without tendency to merge with each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy boat within which gas may be generated but which is so constructed and equipped that'gas pressure therein is not liable to become great enough to cause the boat structure to burst.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy boat having a compartment aft which constitutes a gas generating chamber and a compartment'forward which constitutes a gas receiving chamber, the compartment aft being separated from the compartment forward by a bulkhead to prevent the compartment forward from being befouled by residues of the gas generation.

A further object is to provide a toy boat having a compartment aft which constitutes a generating chamber, ingress to which is through a hatchway having a cover which functions also as a safety valve, as a measuring cup and as a simulated gun turret which may be turned to aim its guns in any desired direction.

A further object is to provide a toy boat adapted to be propelled by gas generated from effervescent powder within the boat, the boat being so ballasted that it may be charged with efiervescent powder and water or cleansed of residues by children without causing it to list or yaw.

Another object is to provide a toy boat which has a deck molded to simulate in appearance the deck and deck armament of a PT boat (which is defined by the American Everyday Dictionary as a small, speedy boat used chiefly to torpedo enemy shipping).

Other objects and many advantages of the invention will be'apparent from' the following description illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. I is a view in perspective of a toy boat embodying the invention; V

Fig. II is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. III is a vertical sectional view taken substantially as'indicated by the line III-III of Fig. II and;

Fig. IV is an enlarged vertical sectional View showing a connection between the lower end of an inclined, in-

atent boat grey or any other desired color.

Patented July 31, 1956 2 verted trough and 'a tubular conduit at the mouth of which bubbles are to be formedto rise into the trough and also showing a keel or center board which may in some cases be formed beneath a hull of the toy boat.

The specific drawing and the specific description that follows illustrate and disclose the invention but are not intended to limit its 's'cope.

The toy boat'ofthis invention comprises a hull 1 covered by a deck-L the interior of the hull 1 being divided by means of a-bulkhead 3 into an aft compartment4 and a forward compartment 5. The hull 1 and the deck 2 maybe molded separately-from synthetic molding material which maybe e'ither thermoplastic orthermosetting and which may-be suitablypigmented to make the The deck 2 is cemented or fused 'to the hull 1 to make a gas type joint therewith. The bulkhead 3 may either be molded integrally with the hull 1 or it ma'y be made separately and cemented'or fused in place. When the boat is fabricated a gap 6 is left between the upper edge of the bulkhead 3 and the deck 2.

Located on the deck 2 are simulated torpedoes 7 and other accouterments as well as simulated armored quarany desired direction.

The hatch-cover13 ishollow so .thatwhen it is removed from the'hatchway and inverted it forms a measuring cup that will'hold just'the amount of water required to actuate a charge of elfervescent powder.

Formed in the bottom of the hull 1 adjacent the bow of the boat is a boss 15 having a bore therethrough in which is inserted a tube 16 the-upper end of which extends upwardly into'the hull. Thetube 16 fits the bore through the-boss 15 w ith sufiicient snugness to prevent accidental slippage therein.

' The lower'end of the tube 16' is reduced to form a nipple 17 which passes through a hole in 'an inverted trough 18 andextends downwardly for a distance which is preferably-equal to about twice the inside diameter of the tube.

The tube 16 and 'the trough 18 are securely joined by fusing, cementing, molding or otherwise to constitute a functionally integral structure. The trough 18 is not faste'nedto the hull 1 otherwise than by the tube 16. Hence whenthe"tube"16' is pulled out of the boss 15 the tube and trough come away as a unit. When the tube 16 is-pushed' into the boss 15;the rear end of the inclined trough 18 engages the hull 1 just below-the stern and the trough 18, being somewhat-resilient, presses against the hull'with sufficient force to hold the trough from accidental shifting from side to side. A shallow notch may be formed centrally'beneath the stern of the hull 1 which tends to locate the rear end of the inverted trough 18 centrally. The rear end of the' trough 18 may however be pushedmanually to various positions beneath the stern,"it's" lateral movement being limited by bosses setting of the rudders 23 and 24 and changes in the setting of the trough 18 a keel or center board 25 may be molded or otherwise formed beneath the hull 1 to be within the triangle outlined by the tube 16 and the trough 18, as shown in Fig. IV.

Operation With the tube 16 pushed through the boss 15 far enough to cause the rear end of the resilient trough 18 to press tightly against the stern end of the hull 1, and with the hatch cover 13 removed, a teaspoon full of effervescent powder, such as baking powder, is charged through the hatch into the compartment 4. Using the hatch cover 13 as a measuring cup, it is filled with water which is emptied through the hatch into compartment 4 whereupon the hatch cover 13 is pushed into the hatchway. The deck 2, being cemented or fused upon the hull I and the hatch cover 13 being in place, the hold of the boat is gas tight except at the entrance to the tube 16.

Effervescence within the compartment 4 puts the air and gas within that compartment under pressure and causes it to flow through the gap 6 above the bulkhead 3 into the forward compartment thus raising the pressure therein and forcing air and gas downwardly through the tube 16 and the nipple 17 from the lower end of which it is emitted to form substantially spherical bubbles which after formation do not cling to the nipple 17 or merge with each other but which detach themselves one by one from the nipple orifice and rise behind the nipple 17 into a series of impacts upon an inclined ceiling within the invex-ted trough 18.

In the absence of an extension such as the nipple 17 it has been found that gas bubbles tend to adhere to the trough in such manner that the bubbles assume eliptical shapes, are sluggish in moving up the trough and tend to merge into each other until they become so large that the trough cannot contain them. The enlarged bubbles are liable to spill out of the trough before they have traveled along it for its full length. It is important that the nipple 17 or other extension from which the gas is emitted be so long that each bubble is formed out of contact with the trough or other object to which it may adhere. It is also important that each bubble be well rounded and separated from adjacent bubbles.

The optimum condition of bubble formation is attained by making the nipple 17 or other extension thin and its length such as to release the bubbles a substantial distance below the trough, but its length should not be so great as to unduly increase the pressure necessary to force the gas against the head of water which is measured from the lower end of the nipple to the surface of the water in which the boat is floating. In general the nipple should extend below the ceiling in the trough a distance equal to about twice the diameter of the orifice from which the gas is emitted.

The series of bubbles then travels upwardly and rearwardly along the trough, each bubble furnishing an in crement of propulsive power corresponding to the weight of water displaced by the bubble multiplied by the vertical component of the distance that the bubble travels along the trough. The longer the trough 18 is, the greater is the number of bubbles acting upon it and the greater is the power applied to it. Hence the trough is made to extend from how to stern and beyond.

As the bubbles escape from the upper end of the trough they form a lively sparkling wake in which each bubble looks and acts like a puff of an underwater exhaust from an engine.

The toy PT boat is preferably only a few inches long and is adapted for cruising in small bodies of water such as puddles, wading pools and bath tubs. It often is de sirable therefore that the boat be steered in circles. The rudders 22 and 23 can be set to steer the boat in circles a few feet in diameter. When it is desired that the boat be steered in smaller circles the rear end of the trough 12 may be shifted laterally. In fact the lateral shifting of the rear end of the trough is a most efficacious means of steering. The boat will handle well with no manipulation of the rudders and even if the rudders are left off of the boat as manufactured or if they become broken off.

Boats which have a keel or center board such as that illustrated in the modification shown in Fig. IV can be steered in circles even smaller than those in which boats not having such keels or center boards can be steered.

After a charge of effervescent powder is exhausted the residue can be emptied through the hatchway and the rear compartment 4 can be supplied with a new charge of powder and water. Because there are no nitches or crannies within the hold where residue may accumulate and because of the size and location of the compartment 4 which constitutes the generating chamber, the ballasting of the boat is not appreciably disturbed by incomplete removal of exhausted material and addition of fresh material unskillfully. Moreover, the hold of the boat can be thoroughly rinsed out even by a small child.

The toy is protected against bursting by the manner in which the tube 16 is connected to the bottom of the hull, by the interposition of the bulkhead 3 between the generating chamber 4 and the forward compartment 5 and by the fact that the hatch cover 13 functions as a safety valve which will be raised in case the pressure within the hold does become excessive.

The simulated torpedos 7 and other accouterments on the deck 2, the armored quarters 8 and the turnable gun turret 14 give the toy PT boat a business-like appearance that cooperates with its action to delight child users and stimulate their interest and imagination.

The foregoing description is to be regarded as illustrative only; the invention is subject to modification within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

We claim:

1. A -toy boat comprising, in combination, a hull molded of plastic material, a deck also molded of plastic material and fixed upon said hull with a gas tight joint, a bulkhead within said hull dividing the hold of said boat into an aft compartment and a forward compartment, there being a gap between said deck and the top of said bulkhead to permit the flow of gas from said aft compartment to said forward compartment, there being a hatch through said deck above said aft compartment, a hatch cover to close said hatch with a substantially gas tight fit but capable of being lifted therefrom by moderately excessive gas pressure, said hatch cover being in the form of an inverted cup capable of measuring the quantity of water to cause effervescence of a charge of effervescent compound, said hull having a boss formed on its bottom adjacent its bow end, said boss having a hole there/through from the interior to .the exterior of said hull, a tube one end of which is adapted to be inserted into said hole with a snug push fit, a nipple on the other end of said tube, a trough adjacent one end of which said nipple is located, said trough, said tube and said nipple being fixed together to be a functionally integral structure, said nipple having an orifice for emission of gas, such orifice when said trough is inverted being located below the ceiling in said inverted trough a distance equal to approximately twice the diameter of such orifice, said inverted trough being resilient and, when said tube is pushed upwardly into the boss on the bottom of said hull sloping upwardly and rearwardly with the rear end of said trough pressing upwardly against the stern end of the bottom of said hull, said functionally integral trough, tube and nipple structure being adapted to be swung about the axis of said tube to shift the rear end of said trough to various positions across the stern end of the bottom of said hull to cause said boa-t to be steered in an arc, when propelled by gas generated in said aft compartment, emitted by said nipple and acting as a series of bubbles traveling rearwardly and upwardly along said inverted trough, manually settable rudder means mounted at the stern end of said hull, said deck being embellished with simulated equipment and said hatch cover constituting a toy gun turret.

2. A toy boat comprising, in combination, a hull molded of plastic material, a deck also molded of plastic material and fixed upon said hull with a gas tight joint, a bulkhead within said hull dividing the hold of said boat into an aft compartment and a forward compartment, there being a gap between said deck and the top of said bulkhead to permit the flow of gas from said aft compartmen-t to said forward compartment, there being a hatch through said deck above said aft compartment, a hatch cover to close said hatch with a substantially gas tight fit but capable of being lifted therefrom by moderately excessive gas pressure, said hatch cover being in the form of an inverted cup capable of measuring the quantity of water to cause effervescence of a charge of effervescent compound, said hull having a boss formed on its bottom adjacent its bow end, said boss having a.

hole therethrough from the interior to the exterior of said hull, a tube one end of which is adapted to be inserted into said hole with a snug push fit, a nipple on the other end of said tube, a trough adjacent one end of which said nipple is located, said trough sloping upwardly and rearwardly with the rear end of said trough against the stern end of the bottom of said hull, said trough being adapted to be swung about the axis of said tube to shift the rear end of said trough to various positions across the stern end of the bottom of said hull to cause said boat to be steered in an arc, when propelled by gas generated in said aft compartment, emitted by said nipple and acting as a series of bubbles traveling rearwardly and upwardly along said inverted trough, manually settable rudder means mounted at the stern end of said hull, said deck being embellished with simulated equipment and said hatch cover constituting a toy gun turret.

3. A toy boat comprising, in combination, *a hull molded of pigmented plastic material, a deck also molded of pigmented plastic material .and fixed upon said hull With a gas tight joint, a bulkhead within said hull dividing the hold of said boat into an aft compartment and a forward compartment, there being a gap between said deck and the top of said bulkhead to permit the flow of gas from said aft compartment to said forward compartment, there being a circular hatch through said deck above said aft compartment, a round hatch cover to close said hatch with a substantially gas tigh-t fit but capable of being turned in said hatch or being lifted therefrom manually or by moderately excessive gas pressure, said hatch cove-r being in the form of an inverted cup capable of measuring the quantity of water to cause effervescence of a charge of etfervescenct compound, said hull having a boss formed on its bottom adjacent its bow end, 'said boss having a hole therethrough from the interior to the exterior of said hull, a tube one end of which is adapted to be inserted into said hole with a snug push fit, a nipple on the other end of said tube, a trough adjacent one end of which said nipple is located, said trough sloping upwardly and rearwardly, whereby said boat may be propelled by gas generated in said aft compartment, emitted by said nipple and acting as a series of bubbles traveling rearwardly and upwardly along said inverted trough.

4. A toy boat comprising, in combination, a hull molded of plastic material, a deck also molded of plastic material and fixed upon said hull with a gas tight joint, a bulkhead within said hull dividing the hold of said boat intoan aft compartment and a forward compartment, there being a gap between said deck and the top of said bulkhead to permit the flow of gas from said aft compartment to said forward compartment, there being a hatch through said deck above said aft compartment, a hatch cover to close said hatch with a substantially gas tight fit but capable of being lifted therefrom by moderately excessive gas pressure, said hull having a boss formed on its bottom adjacent its bow end, said boss having a hole therethrough from the interior to the exterior of said hull, a tube one end of which is adapted to be inserted into said hole with a snug push fit, a nipple on the other end of said tube, a trough adjacent one end of which said nipple is located, said trough sloping upwardly and rearwardly, whereby said boat may be propelled by gas generated in said aft compartment, emitted by said nipple and acting as a series of bubbles traveling rearwardly and upwardly along said inverted trough, manually settable rudder means mounted at the stern end of said hull, said deck being embellished with simulated equipment and said hatch cover constituting a toy gun turret.

5. A toy boat comprising, in combination, a hull molded of plastic material, a deck also molded of plastic material and fixed upon said hull with a gas tight joint, a bulkhead within said hull dividing the hold of said boat into an aft compartment and a forward compartment, there being a gap between said deck and the top of said bulkhead to permit the flow of gas from said aft compartment to said forward compartment, there being a hatch through said deck above said aft compartment, a hatch cover to close said hatch with a substantially gas tight fit but capable of being lifted therefrom by moderately excessive gas pressure, said hull adjacent its bow end, having a hole there through from the interior to the exterior of said hull, a tube one end of which is inserted into said hole, a nipple on the other end of said tube, a trough adjacent one end of which said nipple is located, said trough sloping upwardly and rearwardly, whereby said boat may be propelled by gas generated in said aft compartment, emitted by said nipple and acting as a series of bubbles traveling rearwardly and upwardly along said inverted trough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,893,000 Ranney Jan. 3, 1933 1,900,419 Ranney et al Mar. 7, 1933 1,968,710 Roehrig July 31, 1934 2,331,187 Harris Oct. 5, 1943 2,538,347 Yates et al Jan. 16, 1951 2,668,390 Fredericks Feb. 9, 1954 

